Meeting Mr. Mogul(56)

"Andy. Please take a seat." She gestured toward the empty seat beside  her fiancé. "She is here to help me and Maggie plan for this Saturday's  event so you two should get back. The ladies and I have some event  planning to do," she added sternly, glancing between William and  Michael.

"Right. Okay," Michael stood up, and gestured for William to follow him. "Come on, Willy."

William stayed immobile as he sat still while staring at me. I stood in  the same position, feeling trapped under his gaze. Since William didn't  make any move to stand up, Michael walked around Alexandra towards his  seat. He grabbed William by his arm, forcing him to stand. His eyes  finally broke contact with mine, snapping me back to reality. I quickly  got to my seat as Michael and William walked towards the door.

When they left the area, Alexandra let out a strained sigh before her  demeanor changed into business mode. I was taken aback by the suddenness  of the situation. I thought that we were going to be talking about what  happened this morning instead of planning an event.

I followed Maggie's actions and wrote down whatever Alexandra decided  and told us to do. I didn't understand the situation, but I remained  quiet in my seat as I listened to all her instructions.

"I know this is sudden for you, Andy. I forgot to tell you about it.  This is supposed to be Maggie's responsibility but I want to lessen her  burden. I hope you'll understand," Alexandra blurted after we finished  discussing everything.

"It's okay. I'm glad I could help Maggie out," I replied. I turned to face Maggie and gave her a small smile.

Maggie mouthed a silent ‘thank you' while Alexandra was preoccupied by  an incoming call. I mouthed back a ‘you're welcome' to her.

"You can go now, Maggie. You can ask Kevin to take you back to work. I  have to discuss something else with Andy," she ordered after she  finished typing a text. "And can you call the waiter so that Andy can  order. Thank you."

"Okay, Ms. Maxwell. I'll leave now," Maggie stood up and pushed the chair back. "I'll see you later, Andy," she added softly.

I nodded in reply and sat silently until she left. It took a whole  minute before Alexandra told me to move seats and sit beside her. I was  hesitant but I moved anyway.

"I know that this morning was a little uncomfortable … " she started  softly, which made me raise my eyebrow. "Well, it was slightly amusing  to watch my brother like that, but I know it was uncomfortable for you."

I remained silent and allowed her to continue. "Did you fall in love  with my brother?" she suddenly asked, catching me off guard.

My eyes widened in surprise. "Ms. Maxwell … " I trailed off, unsure of how I was going to answer her.

"It's not a hard question, Andy. Your feeling towards my brother is none  of my business but let me remind you that my brother hasn't been in a  serious relationship for a very long time. Even though he seemed to have  changed these past few weeks … " she insinuated seriously.

"I don't care whether he was serious or not. Though, I know he isn't  now. The point here is, I don't care about any of this, Ms. Maxwell. I  do not have such feelings for your brother nor any other kind of  feelings that might lead to a serious and intimate relationship," I  countered in the same tone. For some reason, I felt like she was  challenging me into something.

"I see …  Are you sure about all of this?"

"I'm sure," I whispered in reply. I felt my heart race from my answer.   





 

"Why do you feel the need to deny, Andy? I'm not going to eat you if you  did tell me you had fallen for my brother. I would feel a little angry  since I've lost the bet. And I'm sorry you had to find out about it that  way. I didn't mean to put you in this situation. My curiosity just got  the better of me," she admitted, abashed.

"So, the reason why you hired me was because of the bet?" I softly asked as I tried to get the facts straight.

"Part of it is the reason why I hired you, but the other part is because  I see that I can trust you to get the job done, which you had. And  thank you for that," she replied shamelessly with confidence.

"No problem," I whispered, feeling unsure how to respond to her confession.

"I know you felt that we just used you for some game that William and I  invented, but you see, I wouldn't be suggesting such a thing if my  brother hadn't reacted so much from your first meeting. I've got to say,  you gave him a very lasting first impression," she chuckled at a  memory.

My eyes grew wide in surprise at that newly acquired information. I  didn't know I had such an effect with my first meeting with Mr. Mogul.  And from the way I remembered, it was very eventful for me, too. It  wasn't something you could easily forget.

"Have you talked to William after this morning?" she suddenly asked, breaking me from my trail of thoughts.

"Ah …  Yes, we had talked a little … " I stuttered in reply, caught off guard by her question.

"And did he apologize?" she probed in interest, her eyes slightly brightening in anticipation.

"He apologized," I replied curtly, feeling uncomfortable with the  current flow of the conversation. I hope she won't ask about what we  talked about.

"So, what did you talk about besides that?" she asked, confirming my hunch.

My heart rate rose from her question as I started to get nervous all of a  sudden. It felt like I was in an interrogation room, being asked  whether I had stolen something. I opened my mouth as I tried to reply  casually but no sound came out. With that, Alexandra chuckled at my  expression.

"You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to talk about it,"  she stated, releasing me from my internal agony. I didn't want to  recount what had happened in that short car ride, even though it wasn't  life changing. I felt drained from thinking about William himself.

Before Alexandra could think about taking back that offer, the waiter  appeared to get my order. It didn't take long for me to pick which one I  would eat. I stuck to the classic sandwich and water. If I would eat  anything heavy with how I was feeling, I might throw it all up.

After I gave out my order, I was saved when Alexandra's phone rang with  an incoming call. I had escaped the inevitability of being asked another  William related question. I knew that she wasn't doing it to torture  me. I didn't get her fascination on wanting to meddle with her brother's  private life.

When her call ended, I was saved yet again as the waiter came in with my  food and drinks. Our conversation turned casual as I tried to eat my  meal. Alexandra had also asked me about my father, which I didn't  entertain much. I've never been someone who easily divulges my personal  life. I think she only asked about him out of courtesy.

In half an hour, I finished my meal. There was a short awkward silence  after I took my last bite until Kevin suddenly entered the veranda,  looking all businesslike with his stern, poker face.

"Ms. Maxwell, your next meeting will be starting in twenty minutes. If  we don't go now, you'll be late, Ma'am," he informed swiftly and  concisely.

"Thank you for reminding me," She nodded and quickly stood up from her seat.

"Are you ready to go? Kevin can drop you off after he drives me to my  next meeting," she offered, giving me a small, inviting smile.

"Sure. That wouldn't be a problem," I quickly got up from my seat and brushed my wrinkled blouse to hide my discomfort.

I silently trailed behind Alexandra as she walked towards the main  entrance. While Kevin had quickly disappeared to get the car, there was a  short moment when Alexandra and I stood by the entrance as we waited  for the car. I had a feeling she was going to bring up another topic  about William. I let out a sigh of relief as she had her back to me  again as she got in the car.   





 

I stood outside for a second in hesitation. I didn't know if I could sit  with Alexandra in a confined space filled with awkward silence. If she  filled that silence with another William topic, I didn't know whether I  could hold myself up and not feel irritated, annoyed, or just plain  speechless.

"Aren't you going to get in?" Alexandra asked, her body leaning towards me to get me a better view of her confused face.

"Sorry," I apologized and quickly got inside the car.

As we drove off towards the main road, silence had filled the car as I had predicted.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you. Some of the art works had already arrived  this morning. If you want to start with your official job, Kevin could  pick you up tomorrow to drive you to your new work place. You don't have  to worry about the moving thing for my office this week. I'll hire  someone to do it," Alexandra suddenly said.

"Oh! Ah …  Uhm …  about that Ms. Maxwell … " I stuttered in reply, feeling  another wave of nervousness hit me. "Can I not take that job anymore?" I  asked in a low voice. "And, you can take back the apartment." I added a  little more softly.